About the Book

Why another book on social casework, when the past few years have been characterized by a virtual outpouring of new books on social casework? Because in this book we present an empirically and procedurally oriented model for casework, a model based on what is popularly called “behavioristic psychology”. This book presents an overview of the procedures and the findings of the newly burgeoning behavioristic approaches, including behavior modification, and also presents a model for casework which, we believe, combines the concerns of the humanistically oriented practitioner with the precision of the operant investigator.

Most books on casework have concentrated primarily upon the intrapsychic and have neglected or underemphasized the social environment. In this volume we shall amplify and facilitate the analysis of the environments that influence the behaviors of man. We see this book as a step toward development of more effective models of intervention.

Contents

Introduction and Overview

The Operant (Consequential) Model

A Constructional Approach to Self Control (Israel Goldiamond)

The Smith Case (Israel Goldiamond and Arthur Schwartz)

The Johnson Case

Interventions Based on the Pavlovian and Modeling Orientations

The Behavioral Approach and Social Casework Today

About the Author / Editor

Athur Schwartz, University of Chicago, Chicago.

Israel Goldiamond, University of Chicago, Chicago.